London
London is a recurring city throughout the Mortal Engines Quartet and the Fever Crumb Series. It is the most commonly appearing city, as it has appered in Mortal Engines, A Darkling Plain and Fever Crumb. History The Sixty Minute War London was the capital city of Great Britain until the Sixty Minute War or "Downsizing" which destroyed much of human civilisation. In the preceeding millennia, London never regained its former splendour and devolved into a backwater on the Thames river. The only surviving building was St Paul's Catherdral. The Scriven Gradually, the survivors of the Sixty Minute War rebuilt London. Over the years it slowly began to grow and thrive again. During The Great Nomad Wars, the Scriven took over the city in their Traction Fortress The Barbican and their armies Stalkers. The Scriven ruled London like tyrants for two-hundred years years. The Scriven made the Londoners build structures for them, such as Godshawks Head. However the Scriven were unable to interbreed with the indigenous Londoners with many of marriages being barren. Sometime during the Scriven's reign, the river Thames burst its banks and flooded London's Southern Boroughs; creating the Brick Marsh. The last Scriven ruler was Auric Godshawk. Gradually, growing resentment by the Londoners toward the Scrimen culminated in a full-scale uprising by the Skinner's Guild. They slaughtered the Scriven and their Suomi Mercenaries; driving away the survivors. The Skinners After the Scriven were overthrown, London reverted to its squalid bacwater state for the next sixteen yers. Over a period of a few days, the archaeologist Kit Sodent found a high-tech door that he wanted Fever Crumb to open. The Skinner mayor Ted Swiney ordered an attack on Godshawk's head in order to kill Fever Crumb, believing that she was a Scriven. However, Fever escaped with a mortally wounded Sodent and they were picked up by a party of Stalkers aligned with one of the Nomand empires—the Movement. Later, Land Admiral Nicola Quercus's forces marched on London and attempted to claim it. However, he was opposed by Swiney who challenged him to a duel. In the ensuing duel, the younger Quercus bested his opponent who was subsequently crushedby a barrel. The Londoners praise Quercus and let him be mayor. Meanwhile, Fever Crumb opens the door below London to discover Godshawk's plans to turn London into a traction city. Quercus and the Nomad Wars In the following years, London was torn down and rebuilt as a Traction City. Its design was based on the linked and extended chassis of the Movement's Traction Fortresses. As all Quercus's energy and resources were used in the rebuilding of the city, it left London open to attack. His Nomad rivals in the north formed an alliances and plotted to overthrow him so that they could take the city's riches for their own. Then the enemy Nomads attacked London in The Northern War. Many groups of rival Nomads joined together and drove south to attack London with Stalkers, armoured mammoths and their own traction fortresses. However, they were defeated by London which then moved north and devoured the Nomad strongholds. Early tractionist London was extremely different to London as it appeared in Mortal Engines. It was much smaller, and instead of tracks it rolled on wheels. It had no jaws yet while its three tiers were protected with armour and ringed with cannon and catapults. It resembled a giant-sized version of the Nomads' traction fortresses. However, over the centuries, it grew bigger as it ate and integrated more settlements. The base-plate was extended, the wheels were replaced with tracks and and a further four tiers were added to the city. Soon other traction cities were built. MEDUSA For many years, Lord Mayor Magnus Crome planned to rebuild the Old-Tech superweapon MEDUSA. He sent archialogical exhebitions to The Dead Continent to retrieve its pieces and slowely rebuilt it inside ST Paul's Catheral. When it was finished, London left the hills for the first time in ten years, as it was hidding from the bigger cities. Soon after it began its journey across the Great Hunting Ground, it came across the mining town of Salthook. After a short chase it caught the town and ate it. When they were preparing to integrate Salthooks citizens into London society, a girl tries to assasinate Historian hero Thaddeus Valentine, only to be foiled by Tom Natsworthy. London continues on its way. Inside, Shrike is sent to finish off Tom and Hester and the Guild of engineers began creating their own stalkers. Soon, London came across a group of traction towns, which it proceeded to eat. AFter the final town was eaten there were great celebrations. Lights were seen in the distance, though they just thought it a wounded city. However the next morning they find that the bigger city is not wounded. Panzerstadt-Bayreuth chases them and slowely gains on them. Panick breaks out in London because of the fear of being eaten. However, Magnus Crome is delighted at a chance to test out MEDUSA. MEDUSA obliterates the predator city and London continues on towards Batmunkh Gompa with the plans of destroying the shield wall and eating all the Asian static cities. However, MEDUSA is left charging for to long and explodes, destroying London. Ruined London Very few survived the destruction of London, only a few hundred. Londoners Pre and early tractionist *Fever Crumb *Dr Crumb *Kit Solent *Bagman Creech *Ted Swiney *Charley Shallow *Ruan Solent *Fern Solent *Master Wormtmber Tractionist London *Tom Natsworthy *Thaddeus Valentine *Katherine Valentine *Magnus Crome *Dog Sources *''Fever Crumb'' *''Mortal Engines'' *''A Darkling Plain'' *A brief history of Municiple Darwinism Category:Cities Category:British Cities Category:Destroyed Cities Category:Traction cities Category:Moving Cities Category:London